Love Letters from the City
by FearTheLace
Summary: AU. Company executive and self-proclaimed loner Hiei Jaganshi travels to Tokyo against his better jedgement, where he finds the one person who has ever caused him to question both his heart's wishes and sanity. HxK


That irritable beeping, that damned sunshine pouring through the window, that slow opening of the eyes to see the dreaded "6:30" in bright crimson letters on his digital clock, the big reminder that your short and unappreciated three days of freedom were long gone and that it was time to get back in the every day world of exhaustion and self-loathing- it all combined into one hellish moment, and it happened once a week.

Mondays reminded him of people. Unwanted, unnecessary, and unwelcome. But damn it all if they weren't abundant anyway.

How did weekends fleet from him so fast? What the hell was he even doing with his life? These questions and more struck him in the brain like injections to the ass every Monday morning as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his tired eyes.

Friday, sleep all day. Literally. It had been a long week and the coffee machine in the office was broken, thus giving him a shortage on caffeine and thus making his mornings that much more unbearable.

Saturday, have breakfast (at noon, no less) with his twin sister Yukina, be informed that she was going on a date that afternoon. Belittle her companion for said date. Cause Yukina to become upset. Have a flood of guilt attempt to drown him. Apologize. Say goodbye as she left. Drink.

Sunday, drink to the realization that Yukina hadn't come home yet. Get a call saying that she was fine, that she was going to come home late and she didn't want to wake him so she stayed at the Kuwabara's house and to please not freak out, because nothing happened. Be relieved. Drink anyway.

The image of his shorter, kinder, and much cuter twin sister out and about with that idiotic, oversized, rudely tall brute was almost more than he could handle- the slightest inch of thought process devoted to them doing anything close to intercourse gave him the urge to vomit profusely.

Regardless, they hadn't done anything. Yukina would never lie to him. He hoped.

"Morning." she greeted with a smile in his doorway, his towels for his shower in her arms. "Sleep well?"

He grunted as he rose from his bed and rubbed his neck in agony. He didn't respond to her question. Instead he just walked slowly, grabbing his towels on his way out, and headed in the direction of hygienic necessity. Yukina sighed. Typical, she must have thought. Typical lazy, worthless Hiei, she must have mentally stated. I can't wait to marry and get the hell out of this house and away from my brother, he's such a drag.

"Why did you stop walking?" she asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

Of course Hiei was exaggerating. Yukina loved her older brother more than life itself and the dark-headed editor knew it all too well. Monday mornings seemed to bring out the worst in him. And if it were the worst in Hiei, then it was pretty damn bad.

The water woke him a little, but not enough to make his day that much less miserable. He walked into his kitchen, trying to get his tie right, where his twin was waiting with breakfast and coffee for him, her light aqua hair tied up in a bun. The hairstyle made her look older, and that bothered Hiei.

But then again it was Monday. What didn't bother Hiei on a Monday.

His own black hair, styled into his trademark flame-resembling up do with the white starburst in the center, looked a tad messy with a strand or two of his bangs in his eyes, but who had time for perfection when Mondays existed. Yukina giggled and fixed his tie for him before handing him his coffee mug. "I swear, you get taller every day. You're almost as tall as Yusuke now." God bless her, he thought as he took a long gulp.

"I applied for a job at the pet store, and they called me in for an interview this afternoon." she said as she pulled his chair out for him. "The girl who owns the place used to date Koenma, did you know that?"

"You don't need a job." the first words that came out of his mouth that morning. He was still groggy but he was somewhat alive now. Yukina frowned that disapproving frown of hers as she served his breakfast to him. "Yes I do." she replied shortly.

Which meant that Yukina wanted to support herself without her brother's help, which meant that she was probably planning on moving out soon and was probably going to marry that big tall guy and oh god he hated Mondays.

"You can eat now." she murmured, a little concern evident in her quiet voice. "…and stop staring at your food like it's a sappy romance film."

On his way out, they carried out the usual ritual- she handing him his lovingly prepared lunch, the goodbyes, and the cheek kisses that they had grown accustomed to since adulthood had struck them both like sledge hammers. They were like a married couple, Hiei would think sometimes. A married couple with no sexual attraction and a wife that goes off and dates taller, dopier people.

The drive to the office in his sleek black car was a messy, tired blur. He knew the route disgustingly expertly, and the ten minute drive felt like a blink of the eye. He didn't even have to think anymore- check the road for dumbasses rushing to work that morning and the occasional hung-over bastard taking it a little too slow, and that was the only effort put into his trip to the towering building.

It was tall, and hung high in the horizon. Looking up at it was like looking at a postcard one of your relatives sent you from a trip to a big city. But Hiei had seen the damned place so many times the overwhelming factor of it was nonexistent at this point in his career. He walked his way to the elevator to the sounds of the all too familiar greetings of the receptionist (which of course he ignored) and up to the sixteenth level- the editing division, which he ran.

On his turn down the hall to his office, more nauseatingly acknowledgeable voices called out their faked-cheerfulness-infested good mornings, which he also expertly ignored, and unlocked his office to see his chair all ready occupied.

"I'm not in the mood for this shit." he told the figure that was arrogantly taking up his personal space in the black leather seat.

His co-worker grinned. "Good morning to you too, Sunshine!"

Oh Jesus, that phrase was so typical Yusuke. Hiei could have said it a long with him, it was that expected of his business partner.

Big, playful brown eyes looked up at him with way too much energy for Monday morning under a black head of hair sleeked back with grease save for a miniscule strand or two. That cocky grin of his made Hiei wish he had some kind of weapon on him.

Hiei growled under his breath in sheer disgust of how tired he was. "How did you get in here?"

Yusuke's smile grew and he rose from behind his friend's desk, throwing his arms back to hold his head. "I still refuse to share that secret with you. We've worked together since we were seventeen, what makes you think five years later I'd share one of my greatest tricks? Besides, you-"

"Just shut the fuck up and give me my spare key back."

Yusuke made a feigned pouting face. "But it's my most valued possession!"

Hiei took his forefinger and thumb and flicked Yusuke's forehead. The other man cried out and grunted. "You're a dick." he spat venomously. But Hiei didn't even hear him as he settled into his desk.

"I have news!" Yusuke said with a newly returned smile as he plopped in a seat opposite of Hiei's desk. "Looks like the expansion deal is gonna go through!"

Hiei didn't even attempt to summon any excitement. Seeing this and very much expecting it, Yusuke pouted disapprovingly at him. "This is where you congratulate me on a job well done at the meeting a few weeks ago."

Hiei ignored the statement and fidgeted a little with a framed picture of a toddler-aged Yukina by his computer keyboard before he started the faithful machine. With an airy hum the motherboard jumped to life from it's slumber over the weekend.

Yusuke sighed and gave up on his fishing. "Hiei, you need a life, man." He kicked up his feet onto the top of Hiei's desk, and his friend was so tired he didn't even say anything about it. His ruby red eyes were veiled with a tired, lightly blood-shot haze as he scanned the screen of his monitor. Yusuke shot him a concerned glance before turning the sole picture of Yukina around to look. There the young girl sat, nearly identical to how she appeared now albeit in much smaller form, smiling at Yusuke. The brunette grinned back. "How is she?"

And finally the editor spoke. "Fine." was his monosyllabic reply, but it was better than nothing. He clicked the mouse around to open his email, and Yusuke returned his photo.

"You wanna fly to Tokyo with me?" he inquired, returning to his relaxed state. "You could use a few weeks out of the house. Yukina would agree."

Hiei shook his head. "I have things to do."

"Like what, sit around and mope and drink? Come on, man."

But the black-headed man didn't leave any room for negotiation. "I've already been to Tokyo once. Too much going on at one time."

Yusuke silently agreed but argued back. "But I wasn't with you then! We'll have fun when we're together."

Hiei scoffed. "Bullshit."

"Ass."

Hiei tossed a pen at him to shut him up. "No email, no new assignments, no nothing- why the hell am I even here?"

Yusuke grinned. "To run the office and to scare the interns." It was such an obvious answer that Hiei felt as if he could've yet again said it along with Yusuke. But he didn't have that much energy just yet.

After a few minutes more of banter Hiei shooed his old friend away and the brunette scurried off to his own office, but not before shooting his business partner a flashy smile from the doorway. "Have a good day, darling!" and he was gone, barely missing the pencil that Hiei flung at his head.

* * *

><p>"Jaganshi, Mukuro is calling for you on line four."<p>

Hiei inwardly cursed. "Put her on." he said with melancholic indifference dripping from his words.

"You told Yusuke you weren't going to Tokyo?"

"Oh what, am I a child that is to be tattled on now?" Hiei rolled his eyes. "Urameshi's a grown man, Mukuro. He started this expansion deal and he's going to-"

"Wrong. _We_ started this expansion agreement, the three of us." her tone left no room for argument, and Hiei felt that recognizable knot of distaste for his boss already rising in his stomach. "This is _Raizen, _Hiei. One of the biggest people in the division wants to mend with us. Do you think for a split second that I'm going to take the slightest of risks of this deal dropping? Go home an hour or two early today and start packing."

He bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something that would definitely get him fired. "When? How long? And for God's sake, _why?"_

"In two weeks, for about three weeks, and because you're my right hand man and it's expected that you be there." it sounded as if she had this information memorized from a script. "Do not fail me, Jaganshi."

And she hung up. He checked the phone for any possibility of her hearing him, saw none, and cursed out loud before rising from his desk to his doorway to give Yusuke a piece of his mind.

But the brunette was way ahead of him, apparent by his figure leaning against the doorframe when Hiei opened it. "Need help packing?"

Hiei could have strangled him. "Jesus christ, I hate you so much."

"So I've heard. Now let's google some good eats down there. Three weeks is a long time."

* * *

><p>"Hiei?"<p>

"Hi."

"You're home early…"

"I'm going to Tokyo in two weeks. And if you don't see or hear from Yusuke for a while, it's because I-"

"Oh, that'll be so much fun!" the girl raced to her brother's room to assist in the apparent packing that her brother had to do. "How long?"

"Three weeks."

She smiled and drug his suitcase from his closet. His big one, the expensive one that Yukina got him for Christmas with her savings from childhood. Seeing it and remembering begging her to let him take it back so she could have her cash back made his head hurt.

Then something hit him. "You put him up to this, didn't you?"

Yukina giggled. "Just suggested."

"Why are you so eager to get rid of me?" it was outwardly stated flatly with no emotion, but on the inside his heart was melting. Melting away, just like his worthless life. God.

Yukina closed his closet door and rushed to the drawers, where she pulled literally all sixteen of his dress shirts, a few pairs of slacks and a few more pairs of jeans for the more casual days he would be spending in Tokyo. Probably drinking. "I'm not necessarily eager to get rid of you. I just want you to get out of the house for a little while." Necessarily? There had to have been some sleeping pills around here somewhere….

Her face softened from it's excited smile to a loving, assuring one as she laid the garments down gently in her brother's suitcase to walk up to him slowly. "I realize right now that you don't want to go."

Hiei let out one deep breath to try to allow some frustration to escape. Yukina just had to have been born with the ability to make people feel guilty. Her older brother just shook his heavy, tired head. "No, no… I want to go."

Yukina's warm smile widened in the slightest as she laughed softly. "No you don't. But when you get there, you'll be glad you went." she wrapped her arms around her taller twin lovingly and pulled him into a one-sided hug. Hiei wasn't sure if he wanted to scream or hug her back.

"Please, Hiei? For me? You'll have fun."

And with that, Hiei pulled away gently from the hug to silently resume packing.


End file.
